Unconference

When ? Where ?

This year, since we have a hybrid conference, we will actually have two “Unconferences” !!!

  • One online (this is a novelty of this year) that will take place online Tuesday October 29th at 11am PDT -> which is 2:00pm EDT, 3:00pm BRT, 6:00pm GMT/UK, 7:00pm CET, 11:30pm IST, 3:00am JST (next day).
  • One on-site (in San Francisco) that will take place on Thursday, November 4 between 3:45 and 5:45 PM (right after the Society meeting/ awards/ ISMIR 2025 / conference close session).

What is the "Unconference" ?

In the “Unconference”, participants team up into small groups to discuss MIR topics of their particular interest.

Form. This is an informal and informative opportunity to get to know peers and colleagues from around the world. The format of the sessions is totally flexible, and there are many different styles that have worked at different unconferences. It can be a simple discussion among interested parties. It can be a series of short (spur of the moment) position talks followed by discussion. It can be something else, like a demo, or a tutorial, or a very brief code sprint. Whatever you can imagine!

The overall success will depend on

  • good topics
  • enthusiastic participation

Proposing discussion topics. In order to launch the process, we set up a brainstorming page were you can already start proposing discussion topics, comment them and vote for them. 

The page link has been shared via the Community email list and will additionally be shared with registered attendees via the conference Slack. 

The procedure to add a topic is to click on the “Add a card” button, on the right upper corner of the page and type what you want to submit.

Selecting discussion topics. To vote, you should simply click at the bottom of the card. You will of course be able to propose/ select/ vote-for other discussion topics during the whole Unconference session during the conference, on November 14.

Session schedule The Unconference will begin with a brief plenary in which session topics of greatest interest are selected. We will then divide up and have impromptu sessions/discussions on the topics of greatest interest for 30 minutes (each group is assigned a room for a 30 minutes discussion). After those 30 min, everyone go back to the main meeting room to propose/ select/ vote-for new discussion topics; or pursue the discussions on the same topic. The process is repeated until the end of the session.

We look forward to seeing you there!